1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for searching content, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for effectively searching and simultaneously outputting a plurality of sound content.
2. Description of the Related Art
When conventional electronic devices output sound-related content, because a plurality of sound content are not simultaneously output, regardless of whether multiple applications are being executed, it is difficult for users of the conventional electronic devices to perform content searching and application management. For example, when an application (e.g., a music playback application) is being executed and content which may run on the application (e.g., music) is being played back, if the user tries to preview different content during a search, the currently played content stops and the different content is played independently. Basically, to preview new content in a conventional electronic device, a user first stops content that this currently playing before previewing the new content, which inconveniences the user.
In addition, in a multi-tasking environment where a plurality of applications are executed, when conventional electronic devices execute one of the application in the foreground, the conventional electronic devices do not output sounds of other applications running in the background. As such, conventional electronic devices output only a single sound corresponding to one application, which often inconveniences users trying to simultaneously manage applications that execute sound-related content. For example, when a conventional electronic device executes a call function, if a user of the conventional electronic device also executes a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) viewing application to, the electronic device outputs only sounds for the call function, but does not output sounds for the DMB function.